Clamp-applying apparatus



I May 30,: 1944. F. IREDMA'N 2,350,192

CLAMP-APPLYING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 14, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 game/Wm y F. 'REDMAN 2,350,192

CLAMP-APPLYING APPARATUS v Filed Jan. ,14, 1942 2 Sheets-v-Sheet 2 flank fiedman,

@AJ; WM,

Patented May 30, 1944 UNiTED STA-res OFFICE.

, :CLAIVIR- APP-,LYINGA-PPARATUS Frank.v Redmaln, Washington, Pa assignor' to Hazel-Atlas Glass Company; Wheeling; W. Van,

a corporation ofWest Virginia Application Januaryd4, 19/12, SeriaLNo. 426,772

9,7Claims. (Cl.'22'6 80) This inventionlrelates. toan apparatus :for applying: wire clamps, and the like to jars; and similar receptacles, and has for: its: primary object=toprovideasimplified yet reliable constructionzby 'which.:the;c1amps will 1 be successively fed.

intoLposition andgsecurely held while the jar and closureare forced against the; clamp to properly secure the latter on the jar: and thereby lock the closure in position.

Another: object of the invention consists in the; provision of a clamp-applying: device having an automatic magazine feed for the jar clamps which is operatedbyeach'jar to present acliampx in: position tobe applied to the succeedin'g jar.

Another object of the invention consists in providing an anvil: against which the clamp-is held=while the jar is being moved-into-the clampingiposition.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a clamp-applying device which may. be readily adjusted for use with jars of varying height;

A still further object of the invention consists in providing aclamp applying apparatus for jars which is entirely automatic, it being-only necessary to present the jar to the clamp-applyingstatiom the operationof'the parts-of the mechanism all being caused to function by the movement of the jar to clamping position.

Other objects and advantages of the inven-- tion' willbe apparent from-the following description when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a perspective view of the clampapplying-apparatus; parts being brokenaway;

Figure? is a longitudinal sectional'view of'the apparatus; part of the magazine being broken away.

Figure'3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4- isa front elevationalview of the apparatus:

Figure fa ls a detail perspective view of the clamp feeding mechanism; and

Figure 6 is a perspective viewof the slidable plate for temporarily supporting the clampsas they-are individually fed into'position to be appliedto the jars.-

Referring to the drawings in more detail, numeral l indicates a table top or other base upon which the clamp-applying apparatus is mounted; and on which the jars are supported as they are forced into cooperative relation withthe apparatus: and the-j arclamp tosrbe applied -to the particulars jar. The-numeral 2 indicates a rod: or other standard mounted;onzthebase I and upon which the horizontal portion 3of-the-c1ampapplying apparatus-is mounted, for vertical ad.- justmenhbya set'screw 4, so as rte-adapt the; apparatus: to jars of varying vertical: dimensions. The body vof the clamping apparatus includesinaddition-tothe horizontal portion 3 whichis mounted upon the standard-2, two vertically exe tending; posts 5 located at. opposite sides: of .thefront end f the body. These postsarerou-nded at, their upper; endsas indicated by: numeral '16: (Eigure 2) to-v form a guide for-'the.;clamps',;l asv they areyreleased; fromthe magazine, and each -post-is-.-a'lso formed with agrooveq-orrabbet on its front; face, as: indicated by numeral, 8-; toprovide passageways for the legs: of the clamps-. A face or cover plate 9'is' secured-to members 5by'. means: of screws- I0, a-nd;form,s;a closure: forrtheiront side of the =grooves-18i Slidably'mountedupon the under face'ohthe body 3 is a plate H provided with-a longitudinal slot I21 through-whichth'e standard; 2: extends,

and; an arcuatenotch- IS- in; its forward: edge adapted to: be engaged by: a; portion :of the i010?! sureqof the jar as the latter is presentedito the apparatus. The" side edges W of the plate' H are slidab'ly mounted in horizontal grooves l5 formed; in the adjacent -f aces of the posts: 5; .v and laterally extending lugsl6? and IT are-form-ed onzthe edges ofplate- H and: form anchoring means forrone endvof'springs l8:'which haveztheir opposite; ends connected to sc-rews I lit securedfito the outerrfaces-o f the posts 5:, Shoulders-2H; formediomthe plate H cooperate withthe'rear facesxof posts 5 to limit the forward movement of the: plate, and. thesprings l8 operate; to=re+ turn thenplate toithatpositionafte-r each'oper:- ation ofrtheapparatus. The lug l T :is made "some; whatlonger than; lug lfi so asto provide for manualoperation;of:the'plate II in the event thatlit should become desirable; for any reason; to manually remove'oneormore of thesclamps from the apparatus;

A. chute or: magazine 20C isremployed'ior receiving; and feeding downwardly a: supply' of the jarclamps l; and'xthis chute isrwelded or other wiseconnected'to a supporting. rod 2! whichrhas its lower-end'positioned in an aperture 22 in body member'3. The rodZl may be releasably secured int'positionbymeansvof a setrscrew; or; the like 23 extending through. av side of the body: 3:; A rod 24 overlies the series of clamps on thechute 2th and serves toemaintainzthe; clamps inistacked trigger which is generally indicated by the nug} wardly into the clamping station. In this move- 'ment of the. jar the forward edge of the closure meral 30. The finger 30 is in the form of a vertically disposed plate provided with an elon gated slot 3| which is engaged over the base 19, of bracket but is somewhat loriger-than th base 29 so as to permit vertical movement of the;

plate or finger. A compression spring 32 has one end mounted in a recess in the lower end of base' the bottom wall of slot 3| in the finger 30, so that the finger is normallymaintained in-its lowermost or inoperative position. a -Pivoted in a slot in the upper end of finger is' a pawl 33 which-is normally pressed to the left (Figure 2) by means of a leaf spring 34 mounted on one of the screws 28 which attach the bracket 25 to the cover plate 9. The pawl 33 cooperates with an indexing wheel 35 which is mounted for rotation in a slot formed in the bracket -25. The periphery of the indexing wheel is-provided with a series of notches adapted-to-individuallyengage over the mid-portion o'f the cl'amps 1 as they descend the chute 20. Upward'movement of the indexing finger 30 will,

through the medium of pawl 33, cause the wheel 35 to rotate-one step and thereby allow one clamp to pass downwardly through'the mechanism to the clamp-applying apparatus. A stepby-step movement of the indexing wheel is insured by reason of the leaf spring 21, heretofore referred to, which has its free end positioned to engage the successive notches in the .wheel as it is rotated by the action of pawl 33.

'I'he lower end of 'the indexing finger 30 is provided with a rearwardly curved 'portion 36 which'ter'minates in an upwardly-extending pin 31". This curved'portion 35 of the finger 30 functions as a cam to raise the indexing finger as the jar to be clamped is pushed into the clamping position; the movement of the forward edge' and'top surface of the jar'closure producing a wiping action against the curved surface to liftthe' finger and thereby cause a partial rotation. of the indexing wheel 35. The pin 31 serves as a guide for the mid-portion of a jar clamp released by theindexing wheel, while the downwardly-curved top edges 6 of the .posts 5 serve as guides for the leg portions of theclamps, so that the .clamp will be deposited in proper relationship to the jar when themechanismv is operated. Such position is indicated in Figure 1, inpwhich the intermediate portion of thewire clamp rests upon the reciprocable plate II, and the legs of the clamp are positioned, in front of the anvil portions 38 of the posts 5.

The complete operation. of the apparatus in applying clamps tojthe jars as the jars are successivelypresented to the apparatus, will now be described, it being assumed. that. a, supply of clamps has been loaded into the magazine. 20, and that the body member 3 of the mechanism has been adjusted to the proper position on the standard 2,..for.the height of the jarsbeing clamped. tcIn-Lthis particular instance the, jar A is. pro.-

vided with a closure having a central raised portion B, and it will be apparent that the mid-portion of the clamp partly encircles the raised portion B, while the legs of the clamp extend below the closure and engage under a shoulder formed on the body of the jar. A gasket or liner is provided between the jar and its cover, a gasket C being illustrated in the present embodiment. Y

With the parts shown in the positions indi cated in Figure 1, the operator slides the jar for- ;enters the otch I 3 of plate II and forces the j latt'er -,rearwa rdly against the tension of the i "springs 18. .ponsequently the clamp is deposited on the topo; the cover B, and continued movement of thejar causes the mid-portion of the clampto snugly engage the part B while the legs of the clamp engage under the shoulder on the jar. Inthis' finalmovement of the jar it will bev noted; that the legs of the clamp are in contact with. the anvil portions 38-. of the posts .5 sothatthe legs are firmlybraced, thereby holding the clamp againstrearward movement while it is being forced into actual clamping position to lock the cover in place. The clamped jar is now withdrawn and the, apparatus isready toreceive another jar. 1 r I Inthe'movement of the jar into the clampin stationthe forward edge of .the raised portion Bot-the closure engages the rounded or cam-like portion 36 offlthe trigger 30 and raises it against the pressure ofispring 32. This movement 01 the trigger causes the pawl 33 to rotate the indexing wheel 35 lthrough'one step so as to allow another clamp] to descend toa point adjacent the clampi station. This clamp is guided by the pin 31 and the curved portions 6 of posts 5 into aposition just above, the jar, as shown in Figure ,2:- As the jar isremoved, after being clampedathe succeeding. clamp whichhas been freed from the magazine by thejar, will drop frornits position shown in Figure 2 tothe position shown in, Figure 1, where it rests upon the movable plate II with v its legs presented to an: vils 38, until anotherjar enters the apparatus. From ,the ioregoing' description and the accompanying drawings, it, will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have devised a comparatively simple yet reliable clamp-applyngzapna usatha th c a s are a om e callyried intoclampingposition, that an anvil is provided to hold the clamps against rearward mggementwhile being forced onto the jars,that e; ent r ....d i 1. .r a tc atic except for: t e movement .the.-iar o the. amp t t o and that by a very simple adjustment the appa ratus may be adapted to jars of varying heights. nacwr m t h mt ni st t s a described what I now believe to be the preferred form of the invention, but inasmuch as various changes may be made in the apparatus without departing from the spirit of the invention, it is intended that all :such changes be included wi binm c g t g-ap scd a l m Wl l% A c amp-ap me anism o Jam-me eluding a magazine for a' supply of clamps, means for, imrnovably supporting a clamp in po t on; tube. l ed u on a ar. andmeans peraed. by mo em o a in a a st the im; movable clamp o suc ssi ly. feed lamps to said. p i ion. 1.. $2.1 5 rclamp-apn y pg .-.m ba11 or :J

cluding a magazine for a supply of clamps, an anvil for immovably holding a clamp against rearward movement, and means operated by movement of a jar against the immovable clamp for successively feeding clamps to the anvil.

3. A clamp-applying mechanism for jars, including a magazine for a supply of clamps, movable and immovabl means for supporting a clamp in position to be placed upon a jar, said immovable means holding the clamp immovable during the clamp applying operation, and said movable means being disposed in the path of a jar so as to release the clamp as the jar is moved to clamping position.

4. A clamp-applying mechanism for jars, including a magazine for a supply of clamps, means for supporting a clamp in position to be placed upon a jar, and jar-operated means for successively feeding clamps to said position, said jar-operated means including a vertically movable indexing finger, a cam on said finger normally in the path of movement of a jar, and an indexing wheel cooperating with the supply of clamps and with the indexing finger.

5. A clamp-applying mechanism for jars, including a fixed and a movable support for immovably supporting a clamp, said movable support being disposed in the path of the jar to release the clamp as the jar is moved to clamping position, and means for feeding clamps to said fixed and movable supports.

6. A clamp-applying mechanism for jars, including a magazine for a supply of clamps, a

plate for supporting a clamp in position to be placed upon a jar, means for successively feeding clamps to the plate, and an anvil positioned behind a portion of a clamp fed to the plate to hold the clamp immovable during the clamp applying operation.

'7. A clamp-applying mechanism for jars, including a magazine for a supply of clamps, movable means for supporting a clamp in position to be placed upon a jar, an anvil for holding the clamp immovable during the clamp applying operation, means for successively feeding clamps to said movable means and anvil, and said movable means being disposed in the path of a jar so as to release the clamp as the jar is moved to clamping position.

8. A clamp-applying mechanism for jars, including a magazine for a supply of clamps, fixed means for immovably supporting a clamp in position to be placed upon a jar, jar-operated means for successively feeding clamps to said fixed supporting means, and a guide connected with the jar-operated means for directing individual clamps to said support.

9. A clamp-applying mechanism for jars, including a magazine for a supply of clamps, a plate for supporting a clamp in position to be placed upon a jar, jar-operated means for successively feeding clamps to said plate, and a pin 30 on said jar-operated means for directing clamps to said plate.

FRANK REDMAN. 

